Ohio State's goal on defense is to keep Wisconsin's Montee Ball from running free, as he did on this play against Indiana.Mike De Sisti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, MCT

No. 6 Ohio State at Wisconsin

When: 3:30 p.m., Saturday.

Where: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wis.

TV/radio: WEWS Ch. 5; WKNR AM/850.

MADISON, Wis. -- Ohio State is going to shut down Wisconsin's run game today. The Buckeyes faced two similar rushing offenses this season and completely stifled them, holding Michigan State and Penn State to a combined 66 yards and 1.3 yards per carry.

Wisconsin is going to run all over the Buckeyes today. Coming off a school-record 564 rushing yards against Indiana, the Badgers have gained at least 337 yards on the ground in three of their past four games and always get stronger in November. In the past three seasons, Wisconsin is 9-0 in November and running back Montee Ball has averaged 25 carries and 179 rushing yards in those games.

"His strengths are great vision, and he's really a fast player," Urban Meyer said. "He pulls away from angles, and he has toughness. You can give him the ball a bunch of times, and he just keeps getting stronger. He'll be a very good NFL back."

But he's going to get crunched by the Buckeyes. Ball has 17 100-yard rushing games in Big Ten play, but Ohio State and Iowa are the only teams he hasn't dropped 100 yards on. Ball carried 17 times for 85 yards in the Badgers' loss in Columbus last season, the only time in nine Big Ten games in 2011 in which he didn't reach triple digits.

But the Buckeyes are going to get rolled. The last time Ohio State played at Camp Randall Stadium, in 2010, Wisconsin outgained the Buckeyes, 193 to 97 yards, in the first half and knocked down the Ohio State linebackers as if they were bowling pins.

On top of that, Ball is going for a record, trying to break the NCAA mark for career touchdowns and/or career rushing touchdowns, both held by former Miami (Ohio) and Browns running back Travis Prentice. Prentice had 78 total touchdowns and Ball has 77. Prentice had 73 rushing touchdowns and Ball has 71.

"I definitely expect Ohio State to [want to] stop me, because no one wants to have a record put up against them," Ball said. "I'm just looking forward to breaking it at home."

"We have to play a perfect game," OSU linebacker Zach Boren said.

So this is important. Run the ball. Stop the run.

"The most physical team is going to win," OSU defensive lineman John Simon said. "They're going to try to run the ball right down the middle, and it's our job to stop them. So whoever's tougher is going to win that battle."

If there's some idea on Ohio State's side, it is that when the Badgers have dominated on the ground, the competition hasn't been that tough. The 564 yards came against Indiana's 118th-ranked rushing defense. The 467 yards came against Purdue's 85th-ranked run D. The 337 yards against Minnesota's 73rd-ranked rushing defense.

That's not Ohio State. That's not what Wisconsin will be facing in Simon, Johnathan Hankins, Garrett Goebel, Nathan Williams and three healthy linebackers playing together for the first time in Boren, Ryan Shazier and Etienne Sabino.

"They just go right at you, and we've got John and Garrett and Nate, and we're the type of defense that can stop that. And we feel like we're ready," Hankins said.

Against Oregon State, the 10th-ranked rushing defense in the nation, Wisconsin ran 23 times for 35 yards in a loss in the second game of the year. Against Nebraska, in another loss but against only the 84th-ranked rushing defense, the Badgers ran 41 times for 56 yards. And against Michigan State and its 20th-ranked rushing defense two games ago, the Badgers gained just 19 yards on 37 carries in their third loss of the season.

"Like everything else, it starts up front with the offensive line," Ball said. "They've been doing some great things and at other times, they haven't. And it's the same for us running backs. There are times we made the wrong reads and we didn't break tackles after contact. So it goes hand in hand. When we put lots of yards up, that's when we're both on the same page."

After the loss to Oregon State in Week 2, Bret Bielema fired his offensive line coach. That has helped. In the stagnant loss to Michigan State, the Badgers saw starting quarterback Joel Stave go down with a shoulder injury. They've now had a week to adjust with fifth-year senior Curt Phillips as the new starter. He completed just 4 of 7 passes against Indiana, but he's a threat on the ground himself.

But Ball, the nation's 11th-leading rusher averaging 123 yards per game, knows the weight falls even more on his shoulders now. He missed the game against the Buckeyes in 2010 when the Badgers won. So he has been a Heisman finalist, he's played in the Rose Bowl, he's headed for the record books and he's playing the last home game of his career. But he's never contributed to a win over Ohio State.

And the Buckeyes want to keep it that way.

"We're built to stop the power and the run," Hankins said. "That's what we do and that's what we've been known for around here. I feel like that's going to come pretty easy for us."

So count on the Buckeyes ruining Ball's day. Unless he runs all over them.

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